sweet
1 Americanadjective
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having the taste or flavor characteristic of sugar, honey, etc.
- Synonyms:
- sugary
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producing the one of the four basic taste sensations that is not bitter, sour, or salt.
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not rancid or stale; fresh.
This milk is still sweet.
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not salt or salted.
sweet butter.
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pleasing to the ear; making a delicate, pleasant, or agreeable sound; musical.
- Synonyms:
- mellifluous , melodious
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pleasing or fresh to the smell; fragrant; perfumed.
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pleasing or agreeable; delightful.
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amiable; kind or gracious, as a person, action, etc.
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easily managed; done or effected without effort.
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(of wine) not dry; containing unfermented, natural sugar.
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(of a cocktail) made with a greater proportion of vermouth than usual.
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sentimental, cloying, or unrealistic.
a sweet painting of little kittens.
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(of air) fresh; free from odor, staleness, excess humidity, noxious gases, etc.
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free from acidity or sourness, as soil.
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Chemistry.
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devoid of corrosive or acidic substances.
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(of fuel oil or gas) containing no sulfur compounds.
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(of jazz or big band music) performed with a regular beat, moderate tempo, lack of improvisation, and an emphasis on warm tone and clearly outlined melody.
adverb
interjection
noun
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a sweet flavor, smell, or sound; sweetness.
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something that is sweet or causes or gives a sweet flavor, smell, or sound.
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sweets,
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candy, pie, cake, and other foods high in sugar content.
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Informal. sweet potatoes.
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Chiefly British.
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a piece of candy; confection or bonbon.
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a sweet dish or dessert, as a pudding or tart.
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something pleasant to the mind or feelings.
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a beloved person.
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Often sweets (in direct address) darling; sweetheart.
Yes, my sweet.
idioms
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sweet on, infatuated with; in love with.
He's sweet on her.
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short and sweet. short and sweet.
noun
adjective
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having or denoting a pleasant taste like that of sugar
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agreeable to the senses or the mind
sweet music
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having pleasant manners; gentle
a sweet child
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(of wine, etc) having a relatively high sugar content; not dry
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(of foods) not decaying or rancid
sweet milk
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not salty
sweet water
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free from unpleasant odours
sweet air
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containing no corrosive substances
sweet soil
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(of petrol) containing no sulphur compounds
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sentimental or unrealistic
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individual; particular
the electorate went its own sweet way
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jazz performed with a regular beat, with the emphasis on clearly outlined melody and little improvisation
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slang satisfactory or in order; all right
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archaic respected; dear (used in polite forms of address)
sweet sir
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smooth and precise; perfectly executed
a sweet shot
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fond of or infatuated with
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to ingratiate oneself in order to ensure cooperation
adverb
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012noun
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a sweet taste or smell; sweetness in general
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(often plural) any of numerous kinds of confectionery consisting wholly or partly of sugar, esp of sugar boiled and crystallized ( boiled sweets )
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a pudding, fruit, or any sweet dish served as a dessert
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dear; sweetheart (used as a form of address)
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anything that is sweet
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(often plural) a pleasurable experience, state, etc
the sweets of success
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See sweet potato
noun
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012Other Word Forms
- nonsweet adjective
- oversweet adjective
- oversweetly adverb
- oversweetness noun
- supersweet adjective
- supersweetly adverb
- supersweetness noun
- sweetish adjective
- sweetly adverb
- sweetness noun
Etymology
Origin of sweet
First recorded before 900; (adjective and adverb) Middle English swet(e), Old English swēte (adjective); (noun) Middle English swet(e), derivative of the adjective; cognate with Old Saxon swōti, Old High German swuozi ( German süss ); akin to Dutch zoet, Old Norse sætr, Gothic suts, Sanskrit svādú-, Greek hēdýs, hādýs “sweet,” Latin suāvis “pleasant” and suādēre “to recommend”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"But whatever the faults of the show, it's sweeter than a marmalade sandwich, and if the cuddly creation at its heart doesn't make it a hit, I'll eat his hat."
From BBC
Which you can still see if you take “a sweet trip,” not to the candy shop but along Grand Central Avenue, where it cleaves through Disney’s Grand Central Creative Campus.
From Los Angeles Times
"Sugar, especially the fructose in sugary drinks and sweets, has long been suspected of increasing the risk of developing metabolic diseases -- this needs to be investigated," says Bergheim.
From Science Daily
Young people of that era wanted something youthful, colorful, sweet — something you’d want to hold on a dance floor under club lights.
From Salon
“I didn’t want to sell the car,” she says, “but because of his story, I felt like it needed to go back to its owner. It was the sweetest story.”
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.